The Protestant, the Priest and the Rabbi

I have spent almost twenty hours this week listening to a conference on religion and science. It was a wonderful experience, and I will be writing a long blog entry on it. If you wish to get a head start on what I am going to say go HERE ... and start downloading the presentations.

But a story was told that goes thusly, and reflects in a rather sad way what has happened to religion in the US. It goes like this:

A Protestant (fundamentalist, I assume), a Catholic priest, and a Rabbi were at a religious conference in Houston in the summer. Since it was very hot and muggy, they decided to take a swim in the spring fed lake near the hotel. However, none of them had brought a bathing suit.

So they found an isolated area and skinny-dipped, and enjoyed every minute until they heard someone coming through the woods.

They rushed out of the water into the trees to hide. The Protestant and the Priest covered their groins, as best as possible, with their hands. The Rabbi, covered his face.

When asked later why he covered his face, he explained, "I assumed that was the part of me that a member of my congregation would recognize."

I strongly recommend spending a part of your life listening to this conference if you have any interest in science or religion. There will be more to follow, as I get it worked up.